Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis took a swipe at GOP frontrunner Donald Trump Tuesday for how he treats fellow politicians who don’t endorse him, implying in a CNN town hall that he wouldn’t stoop to the former president’s level while never mentioning him by name.
In Des Moines, CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked the Florida governor to weigh in on how New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s endorsement of rival Nikki Haley will affect his path to victory in the Granite State.
DeSantis responded with no ill-will toward his fellow governor.
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“Well, unlike some people running,” DeSantis began, smiling, “if someone doesn’t endorse me, I’m not going to go trash them.”
The comment appeared to be a veiled reference to Trump’s very public bashing of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds after she backed DeSantis.
“If and when Kim Reynolds of Iowa endorses Ron DeSanctimonious, who is absolutely dying in the polls both in Iowa and Nationwide, it will be the end of her political career in that MAGA would never support her again, just as MAGA will never support DeSanctimonious again,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Two extremely disloyal people getting together is, however, a very beautiful thing to watch. They can now remain loyal to each other because nobody else wants them!!!”
DeSantis, on the other hand, praised Sununu, who has declined to run for re-election after his fourth term concludes in January 2025, as a “good guy” who has “done a good job.”
“And I’m going to continue to say he is good. He is a really good campaigner. I mean, an excellent campaigner. So in that sense, I think it’s a benefit for her,” he said. “But here’s the problem. Even a campaigner as good as Chris is not going to be able to paper over Nikki being an establishment candidate.”
While Trump has not posted on his social media site about Sununu’s endorsement, the indicted former president did respond negatively when Sununu explained in a Washington Post op-ed over the summer that he nixed a presidential bid of his own because he wanted to stop Trump from becoming the GOP nominee.
Trump’s response was to say he “never liked” Sununu, adding that he’s not campaigning for president because he “has no chance of winning.”
New Hampshire residents, he also claimed, “no longer like or respect him.”
